THE LAST THING TO BURN by Will Dean makes 2022 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award shortlist

 Will Dean’s highly acclaimed thriller, THE LAST THING TO BURN, has been shortlisted for the 2022 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award is one of the UK’s most prestigious crime-fiction awards, with its annual winner announced in a prize ceremony at the Harrogate Crime Festival. Members of the public can now vote for their favourite crime novel over at https://harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com/. Voting closes on Friday 8th July, with this year’s winner announced on the 21st of July.

The other shortlisted titles are: THE NIGHT HAWKS by Elly Griffiths, SLOUGH HOUSE by Mick Herron, MIDNIGHT AT MALADAR HOUSE by Vaseem Khan, TRUE CRIME STORY by Joseph Knox, and DAUGHTERS OF NIGHT by Laura Shepherd-Robinson. None of the shortlisted authors have ever won this coveted prize before, making this year’s competition even more exciting.

The prize’s executive director Simon Theakston said: ‘What a fantastic shortlist, six thrilling tales which deliver shocking twists and unforgettable characters! We raise a glass of Theakston Old Peculier to all of the shortlistees and look forward to revealing the winner in July as we kick off the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.’

Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, added: ‘We are delighted to announce this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year shortlist, featuring six novels by some of the most exciting crime writers working today. Whisking readers around the world and through time, this shortlist is a fantastic demonstration of the variety to be found in crime fiction. The public have a tough task ahead choosing just one winner and we can’t wait to see who they vote for.’

THE LAST THING TO BURN is an extraordinary story of resilience and determination in the most horrific of circumstances. As well as winning praise from both readers and reviewers, THE LAST THING TO BURN has been longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, and was voted International Book of the Year by the Rick O’Shea Book Club.  It was first published by Hodder Books in January 2021 and is now available to buy in paperback.

Will’s most recent standalone, FIRST BORN, was published by Hodder on the 14th of April 2022. He is also the author of the Tuva Moodyson Mysteries, a crime series set in Sweden and published by Oneworld. The fifth instalment of the series, WOLF PACK, will be published in the Autumn.

Praise for THE LAST THING TO BURN:

‘This is a brilliant, chilling depiction of life on the very edges of society. I read it in one sitting, and lived every second of the book with the characters. Compelling, horrifying and gripping, and written with such empathy and control, it's probably the best thing I will read this year’ — Jane Casey

‘MISERY meets ROOM ... a triumph’ — Marian Keyes

‘Ratchets up the tension to the point where I had to check my pulse’ — Liz Nugent

‘Brilliantly written... Terrifying’ — Ruth Ware

‘Outstanding. The best thriller in years’ — Martina Cole

Credit: Rosalind Hobley

‘THE LAST THING TO BURN is one of the best thrillers I have read in years: I consumed it in great gulps, desperate to find out how Thanh Dao’s story played out, and then read it again, more slowly, savouring her courage and her unvanquished sense of self, despite everything.’ — Alison Flood, The Observer

About Will Dean:

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.

Follow Will on Twitter and Instagram, and visit his YouTube channel.

Sceptre acquires James Cahill's second novel

We are delighted to announce that Juliet Brooke, Associate Publisher at Sceptre Books,  has acquired UK and Commonwealth (exc. Canada) rights for James Cahill’s second novel, THE VIOLET HOUR,  from Samuel Hodder at Blake Friedmann.

A sweeping psychological drama and razor-sharp satire of the international art world, THE VIOLET HOUR is a gripping and insightful glimpse into a maelstrom of glittering parties, titanic reputations and fatal rivalries.

A young man falls to his death from a tower block in London. Gradually, this apparently random tragedy is shown to be entwined with the lives, desires and regrets of the novel’s three protagonists as they grapple with their pasts and presents – and the ruthlessness of the international art world.

Assured, intelligent, laced with notes of violence and eroticism, THE VIOLET HOUR is a perfect follow up to TIEPOLO BLUE (which publishes today, 9 June 2022), a debut novel that already garnered praise and admiration from readers and reviewers alike. Like TIEPOLO BLUE, THE VIOLET HOUR  weaves sophisticated ideas about expression, authenticity and performance into an exquisitely written story you cannot put down.

James Cahill said: ‘I’m hugely excited to be publishing my second novel with Sceptre. THE VIOLET HOUR is a portrait of the contemporary art world – a world I’ve existed in for many years – but it’s also a story of loss, longing and redemption. I can’t wait for it to come to life as a book, and I’m looking forward to working again with Juliet Brooke, Charlotte Humphery and the whole team at Sceptre.’

Charlotte Humphery, senior commissioning editor at Sceptre, who is working with Brooke’s authors while Brooke is on parental leave, said: ‘TIEPOLO BLUE is a remarkable debut – confident, beautiful and thrilling to read – and we’re so excited to be publishing it this month. THE VIOLET HOUR confirms James Cahill as a vital voice in literary fiction – we’re thrilled to invest in his work. And I know that his new and future fans will love this gorgeous, sophisticated new novel.’

Sceptre will publish THE VIOLET HOUR in Spring 2024.

Praise for TIEPOLO BLUE:

‘The spirit of E.M. Forster is alive and well in James Cahill.  The same palpating of damaged moral tissue, the same psychological canniness, the same gently invoked erudition, the same exactitude and eloquence – except Cahill is able to explore forbidden themes that Forster feared to touch on except posthumously’ – Edmund White

‘This is the best novel I have read for ages. It is so beautifully written, not a false note in any sentence… it’s just masterly… My heart was constantly in my throat as I read… [There is] so much to enjoy, to contemplate, to wonder at, and to be lost in.’ – Stephen Fry

‘Imagine if Hollinghurst and Murdoch collaborated on a witty update of DEATH IN VENICE and you’ll see the appeal of James Cahill’s assured debut.’ – Patrick Gale

‘Sensual, treacherous and elegiac.’ – Maggi Hambling

‘[An] arresting debut novel… [the prose] has a masterly attention to (especially visual) detail and in an irresistibly propulsive, almost swaggering style…there are moments here and there that would make even Hollinghurst blush….’ – Literary Review

‘This divine debut from art critic and academic James Cahill is the smart, sexy read you need in 2022.’ – Evening Standard

About James Cahill:

James Cahill was born in London. Over the past decade, he has worked in the art world and academia, combining writing and research with a role at a leading contemporary art gallery. He is currently a Research Fellow in Classics at King’s College London. His writing on art has appeared in publications including The Burlington Magazine, The Times Literary Supplement, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and The London Review of Books. He was the lead author and consulting editor of FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN (Phaidon, 2018), a survey of classical myth in art from antiquity to the present day. He was the co-curator of ‘The Classical Now’, an exhibition at King’s College London (March-April 2018), examining the relationships between ancient, modern and contemporary art.

Follow James on Twitter and Instagram.

THE LAST THING TO BURN by Will Dean makes The Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2022 longlist

We are delighted that Will Dean’s highly acclaimed thriller, THE LAST THING TO BURN,  has been longlisted for The Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2022. 

Now in its sixth year, the Glass Bell Award celebrates the best storytelling across contemporary fiction, regardless of genre. The other titles longlisted for this year’s prize include: TALL BONES by Anna Bailey, MRS MARCH by Virginia Feito, THE WOLF DEN  by Elodie Harper, THE OTHER BLACK GIRL by Zakiya Dalila Harris, SISTERSONG by Lucy Holland, THE PROPHETS  by Robert Jones Jr, THE BOOK OF FORM AND EMPTINESS by Ruth Ozeki, ARIADNE by Jennifer Saint, DAUGHTERS OF NIGHT by Laura Shepherd-Robinson, THREADNEEDLE by Cari Thomas and WE ARE ALL BIRDS OF UGANDA by Hafsa Zayyan.

David Headley, Goldsboro Books co-founder and MD, and founder of the Glass Bell, says: ‘Every year, we are chomping at the bit to get together and discuss our favourite books published in the previous year; and 2022 was no exception. Once again, the longlist is incredibly exciting and without one weak link. Every year, the judging process gets more difficult as the standard of publishing continues to grow - this year might be our trickiest yet.’

The shortlist of six will be announced on 28th July, with the winner revealed on 8th September.

THE LAST THING TO BURN is an extraordinary story of resilience and determination in the most chilling of circumstances. As well as winning praise from both readers and reviewers, THE LAST THING TO BURN has been longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and  Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, as well as voted International Book of the Year by the Rick O’Shea Book Club.  It was first published by Hodder Books in January 2021, and is now available to buy in paperback.

Will’s most recent standalone, FIRST BORN, was published by Hodder on 14th April 2022. He is also the author of the Tuva Moodyson Mysteries, a crime series set in Sweden and published by Oneworld. The fifth instalment, WOLF PACK, will be published later this year.

Praise for THE LAST THING TO BURN:

‘This is a brilliant, chilling depiction of life on the very edges of society. I read it in one sitting, and lived every second of the book with the characters. Compelling, horrifying and gripping, and written with such empathy and control, it's probably the best thing I will read this year’ — Jane Casey

‘MISERY meets ROOM ... a triumph’ — Marian Keyes

‘Ratchets up the tension to the point where I had to check my pulse’ — Liz Nugent

‘Brilliantly written... Terrifying’ — Ruth Ware

‘Outstanding. The best thriller in years’ — Martina Cole

‘THE LAST THING TO BURN is one of the best thrillers I have read in years: I consumed it in great gulps, desperate to find out how Thanh Dao’s story played out, and then read it again, more slowly, savouring her courage and her unvanquished sense of self, despite everything.’ — Alison Flood, Observer

Credit: Rosalind Hobley

About Will Dean:

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.

Follow Will on Twitter and Instagram, and visit his YouTube channel.

MAY GOD FORGIVE by Alan Parks longlisted for 2022 McIlvanney Prize

We’re delighted that MAY GOD FORGIVE by Edgar Award-winning author Alan Parks has been longlisted for the Bloody Scotland McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2022.

The McIlvanney Prize is Bloody Scotland’s annual prize awarded to the best Scottish crime book of the year and aims to raise the profile and prestige of the genre as a whole.

Also longlisted this year are:  A MATTER OF TIME by Claire Askew, THE SOUND OF SIRENS by Ewan Gault, THE BLOOD TIDE by Neil Lancaster, FROM THE ASHES by Deborah Masson, THE HERETIC by Liam McIlvanney, RIZZIO by Denise Mina, A CORRUPTION OF BLOOD by Ambrose Parry, A RATTLE OF BONES by Douglas Skelton and THE SECOND CUT by Louise Welsh.

Bob McDevitt, Director of Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, said:

‘I'm so pleased to see such an excellent longlist of books in the running for this year's McIlvanney prize. Police procedurals dominate this year, set all around Scotland and from the 1970s to the present day, along with a few striking historical novels (set before the 1970s!) and some contemporary Glasgow noir. Once again, the judges have their work cut out for them!’

The shortlist for the McIlvanney Prize will be revealed at the beginning of September, with the winner announced in Stirling on Thursday 15th September.

MAY GOD FORGIVE is the fifth in the highly acclaimed Harry McCoy series and was published in the UK by Canongate in April, and in the US by Europa in May.

Rights to the series have been sold in more than ten countries around the world and have also been optioned for television. The fourth book in the series, THE APRIL DEAD, was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize in 2021. The third book, BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER, recently won the Best Paperback Original category at the 2022 Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Awards.

MAY GOD FORGIVE by Alan Parks

Glasgow is a city in mourning. An arson attack on a hairdresser's has left five dead. Tempers are frayed and sentiments running high.

When three youths are charged the city goes wild. A crowd gathers outside the courthouse but as the police drive the young men to prison, the van is rammed by a truck, and the men are grabbed and bundled into a car. The next day, the body of one of them is dumped in the city centre. A note has been sent to the newspaper: one down, two to go.

Detective Harry McCoy has twenty-four hours to find the kidnapped boys before they all turn up dead, and it is going to mean taking down some of Glasgow's most powerful people to do it…

Praise for MAY GOD FORGIVE

‘MAY GOD FORGIVE is the fifth instalment in a remarkable series that began with BLOODY JANUARY. The novels, as someone once said, can be read in any order; the important thing is to read them all.’ – Mark Sanderson, The Times

‘MAY GOD FORGIVE is a bleak and violent book, full of grisly details not for the squeamish, but also tenderness, poignance and hard-earned wisdom.’ – Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

‘Enjoyably readable… Parks is a gifted story-teller’ – Allan Massie, The Scotsman

‘MAY GOD FORGIVE is crime fiction which pulls no punches, powerfully told and, at times, heartbreakingly poignant. One of the crime novels of 2022.’ – Mike Ripley, Getting Away With Murder

About Alan Parks

Alan Parks was Creative Director at London Records in the mid 1990’s, then at Warner Music, where he created ground-breaking campaigns for artists including All Saints, New Order, The Streets, Gnarls Barclay and Cee Lo Green. He was also Managing Director of 679 Recordings, a joint venture with Warner Music. His debut novel BLOODY JANUARY propelled him onto the international literary crime fiction scene immediately and his work has been hailed by contemporary writers and critics alike.

BLOODY JANUARY was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, FEBRUARY’S SON was nominated for an Edgar Award, BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER was picked as a Times Best Book of the Year and THE APRIL DEAD was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.

Alan was born in Scotland and attended The University of Glasgow where he was awarded a M.A. in Moral Philosophy. He still lives and works in the city that is so vividly depicted in the 1970s setting of his Harry McCoy thrillers.

Follow Alan on Twitter

Visit Alan’s website

ITV commissions new series of Grace

We are delighted to announce that ITV has commissioned a new series of GRACE, the popular television show based on the internationally bestselling Roy Grace series by Peter James.

John Simm will reprise his role as Brighton-based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, with Richie Campbell, Zoe Tapper and Craig Parkinson also returning to their roles of DS Glenn Branson, Cleo Morey, and DS Norman Potting respectively.

In an interview with the Radio Times, John Simm revealed that he’s ‘more than happy to keep playing [Roy Grace]’ for years to come, saying: ‘I've played loads of different characters, and I'm sure there'll be loads more coming up, I'll do other things as well. But Roy Grace is such an intriguing part and to have the whole world of the novels to immerse myself in has been invaluable. I'm more than happy to keep playing him if people want to keep watching the show.’

The new series will consist of three feature-length films, with episodes one and three written by Ben Court and Caroline Ip, and the second penned by Ed Whitmore.

Roy Grace hit TV screens around the world for the first time in 2021 when ITV’s much-anticipated adaptation, written by the critically acclaimed screenwriter and ENDEAVOUR creator Russell Lewis, premiered in March. The first episode, based on the first Roy Grace book DEAD SIMPLE, was watched by 8.8 million viewers in the UK and has since aired in countries including the USA, Canada, Japan, Norway and Finland.

Roy Grace returned to ITV in April 2022, starting with LOOKING GOOD DEAD, which like the subsequent episode NOT DEAD ENOUGH, topped the charts as most-watched UK TV show of the night. DEAD MAN’S FOOTSTEPS followed, and DEAD TOMORROW will be broadcast at 8pm on Sunday 22 May. All the latest episodes of GRACE are available to watch on BritBox and ITV Hub.

GRACE is produced by Tall Story Pictures (part of ITV Studios) and Vaudeville Productions. Along with Patrick Schweitzer (Tall Story Pictures), Andrew O’Connor (Vaudeville Productions) and Paul Sandler (Vaudeville Productions), author Peter James will be executive producing the new films. ITV Drama Commissioner, Huw Kennair Jones, will oversee production from ITV’s perspective.

The eighteenth Roy Grace novel, PICTURE YOU DEAD, will be published in hardback on the 29th of September by Pan Macmillan, and is available to pre-order now. All the Roy Grace novels are being released in new TV tie-in editions as well, as the series progresses. See more about the whole series in order here.

Praise for GRACE:

‘GRACE has earned its coveted spot among ITV’s crime perennials.’ – Gabriel Tate, The Telegraph

 ‘Simm is excellent as the melancholic copper and should get his wish to play the role for years to come.’ – Joe Clay, The Sunday Times, Critic’s Choice

 ‘There is a reason why Peter James’s novels have sold all over the world, and one of the main ones is that… Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is a well-written and believable character… Simm makes for a likeable lead and the atmospheric Brighton setting is well used.’ – Sarah Hughes, The Sunday Telegraph, The Very Best of the Week Ahead

 ‘The intricate, twist-laden plot, atmospheric south-coast location and impressive performances mean that GRACE is likely to be a hit with fans of the books and newcomers alike.’ – The Sun, Pick of the Day

‘‘Grace and Branson’s race to find Michael made for truly nail-biting TV and there were great performances, with Simm as watchable as ever as the shrewd, yet vulnerable Grace… With more to come later this year… I’ll certainly be tuning in.’ – Gwendolyn Smith, The i

‘Simm gives [Roy Grace] a winning sense of humour beneath all the grit… Campbell is smooth foil, playing Branson quietly enough that Simm doesn’t have to be enormous to stand out. Brighton’s mix of pretty shoreline, faded glamour, criminal past and contemporary hipsterism makes it a ripe spot for some murder. The action feels rooted in its setting … It’s almost inconceivable Simm hasn’t already been in a long running franchise… and I expect the wait’s over.’ – Ed Cumming, The Independent

 ‘The first TV adaptation of the first of bestselling author Peter James’ Brighton-based Roy Grace detective novels impressed on its debut last year. But with the second episode last week, there was a huge sense that the whole thing stepped up a gear. The actors actually started to become those characters that we have been reading about across 17 brilliant novels so far; and importantly, we also started to get a genuine sense too of the relationships between them. Tonight, the Grace series, with its third episode, took maybe its biggest leap so far: the one that fully establishes it as a thrilling series which is now fully into in its stride – a series with the legs to run and run for as long as Peter James is prepared to keep writing the novels… The series is now absolutely required Sunday night viewing… complex without being convoluted; at the extreme ends of human behaviour but also thoroughly rooted in our humanity.’ – Phil Hewitt, Sussex Express

 ‘LOOKING GOOD DEAD is an undeniably fun ride. The central mystery itself is gripping and well-paced, doling out bits of information at just the right time to keep things engaging, while Simm and Campbell make for a strong on-screen pairing. Simm in particular is naturally charismatic in the role, making Grace at once unknowable yet also deeply empathetic at the same time… action sequences are thrillingly executed, and the overall story resolution is satisfying, while leaving enough character threads hanging to allow for development across the rest of the season… I was hooked and came away wanting more.’ – James Hibbs, Radio Times

‘It’s so, so good. I nearly missed my train stop!’ – Zoe Ball, The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, BBC Radio 2, interviewing John Simm who plays Roy Grace in GRACE on ITV

 About Peter James:

Peter James is the international bestselling author of many award-winning novels, repeatedly occupying the Number One slot on the Sunday Times bestseller charts in both hardback and paperback. Peter writes both thriller standalones and the hugely popular Brighton-set Roy Grace series, now adapted for ITV.

Peter’s books have been translated into thirty-eight languages, with worldwide sales of over twenty-one million copies and his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, set in Brighton, has given him 19 consecutive Sunday Times Number Ones. In 2015 WH Smith customers voted him the Greatest Crime Author of All Time and in 2016 he was awarded the coveted CWA Diamond Dagger, a lifetime achievement award for sustained excellence. In 2018 he received a Specsavers Honorary Platinum Bestseller Award. Peter James has also written two books based on true crime stories, with former senior detective Graham Bartlett.

 The 16th Roy Grace, FIND THEM DEAD, was a UK Number 1 in both hardback and paperback, spending four consecutive weeks at Number 1 in paperback, and reaching Number 5 in Australia and Canada too. In 2021 Peter James repeated the hardback and paperback Top Ten double with LEFT YOU DEAD and standalone thriller I FOLLOW YOU.

Successful nationwide tours of the stage plays of THE PERFECT MURDER (2014), DEAD SIMPLE (2015,) NOT DEAD ENOUGH (2017) and THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL (2019) have packed theatres in dozens of British cities, and garnered magnificent reviews. Several other Peter James novels are optioned for film and in further development.

Visit Peter’s website

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